Saturday, 11 February 2012

WW Healthy Chocolate Ice Cream

I am not a huge fan of ice cream but Sylvia loves it. Her eyes light up at the mention of it. So when I found myself with bananas that need to be used and a ripe avocado, I followed Not Quite Nigella's unlikely recipe and made chocolate ice cream.

It was my most successful ice cream venture so far. Which is not saying much, considering my trackrecord. I felt I did better this time at stirring the freezing custard to break down the ice crystals than in previous ice cream attempts. Or maybe it was just the banana and avocado were creamier anyway.

A minor problem was that I could detect a slight taste of avocado. Not enough to put me off. Worse were the choc chips. I think the ones I used may have been heat affected. But they were more like chips of cement than soft chocolate in the ice cream. Next time I might use either finely grated chocolate or even just try melting the chocolate.

All in all not a a bad way to please a child! After all, who can resist an ice cream that not only is vegan and gluten free, but also has more fruit and veg than sugar! Giving a child a scoop or two feels like saying, here have some fruit, have some vegetables! Great to come home to after swimming lessons!

Chop banana flesh and freeze (I froze mine about 5-6 hours). Blend in food processor with avocado flesh, cocoa and maple syrup until you have a creamy custardy mixture. Stir in choc chips and place in plastic container in freezer. Remove from freezer, stir and return to freezer after about an hour or two. Do this about three times to break down the ice crystals and get a creamy texture. To serve, leave out to soften for about 1 hour.

Thanks Hazel - yes lots of these sorts of recipes like this about but this one particularly took my interest - I think the avocado taste is not too bad just something I was aware of but I am sure I could get used to it

Brilliant Johanna! I will try this for Cooper. Could you email me this link Johanna? I'm not on my own computer and will probably forget, by the time I do get to my own one. I really don't want to forget. Thank you! *cheesy grin*

It looks great, and what a clever idea, to harness the natural sweetness and creaminess of banana and avodaco. Shame about the chocolate chips though. I hope you find a way of incorporating them so they don't break your teeth!

Oh! I am definitely going to try this. After my success with chocolate avocado pudding and icing, I am sold on the concept. And this looks like the sort of ice cream I would enjoy (I'm usually in your camp and can take it or leave it). Thanks for the recipe :)

Thanks Kari - must try your raspberry banana ice cream next - part of my problem with the take it or leave it attitude is that it gets forgotten in the freezer - we haven't had much of the chocolate ice cream - so it might be a while (my last ice cream lasted over a month)

This is definitely an ice cream I can get behind, not generally being a big ice cream person myself. Though I've never liked chocolate in ice cream for precisely what you've noted: it generally becomes too hard and loses its flavour (there's a reason chocolate is supposed to be stored and eaten at around 16C or something like that :P )

Thanks Hannah - actually the avocado and chocolate reminded me a bit of your raw brownies so I am sure you would enjoy it - but I agree that chocolate is best served room temp or warm - it is travesty to put it in the fridge and I have learnt my lesson with these choc chips !!!

Thanks Ashley - there is cocoa in it - Lorraine also suggests cocoa nibs which might also work well for less of a crunch and probably healthier - I'm not so keen on banana by itself so I liked this idea of combining it with other flavours

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Recipes and reflections in which our vegetarian heroine dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe; being a goddess in the kitchen; and being gladdened by green gadgets, green food and green politics because green is the colour of hope. See About Me for more info.